The Big Ten had four games on Saturday and three of them were fantastic matchups. Michigan State hosted Toledo, Wisconsin faced off against rival Marquette, Michigan tried to bounce back against San Diego State, and Indiana and Nebraska met.
Let’s take a look at what happened.
Game of the Night:
-No. 23 Wisconsin Badgers 89, Marquette Golden Eagles 76
This game got a little overshadowed by the football slate, but it was a great matchup between two pretty hot teams. Both teams entered with just one loss and momentum. Marquette had won two straight and the Badgers were coming off four straight wins against top 70 opponents, including a huge upset over Houston.
The game itself was pretty competitive. Wisconsin held just a three-point lead at halftime and Marquette was able to keep things close enough in the second half to make some Badger fans uncomfortable. However, Wisconsin proved to be too much thanks to 25 points from Johnny Davis and 20 points from Brad Davison.
Wisconsin improved to 7-1 overall with the win and will now prepare for a matchup against Indiana at home next Wednesday. It’s a great opportunity for the Badgers to keep building what’s already looking like a great resume.
The Rest:
-Indiana Hoosiers 68, Nebraska Cornhuskers 55
This was the only conference matchup of Saturday and Indiana took care of business in it, grabbing a 68-55 win over the Huskers. Nebraska came out of the gate with plenty of momentum, but things had fizzled by halftime and they never recovered. Race Thompson led the way for Indiana with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Indiana improved to 7-1 overall and 1-0 in Big Ten play with the win while Nebraska fell to 5-4 overall and 0-1 in Big Ten play with the loss. The Hoosiers will now prepare for a key road matchup against Wisconsin on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Nebraska will hope to get back on track on Tuesday at home against Michigan.
-No. 24 Michigan Wolverines 72, San Diego State Aztecs 58
This was another quality matchup for the Big Ten. While San Diego State doesn’t get a ton of national respect, the Aztecs are one of the nation’s better mid-major programs, having won at least 20 games in 15 of the last 16 seasons. Michigan was also in search of a bounce back win after getting embarrassed by North Carolina earlier this week. Fortunately for Wolverine fans, Michigan was able to get the win thanks to 23 points from Hunter Dickinson and 17 points from Caleb Houstan.
With the win, Michigan improved to 5-3 overall and will now prepare for a road trip against Nebraska on Tuesday. It figures to be a tricky game for a young Wolverine squad.
-No. 22 Michigan State Spartans 81, Toledo Rockets 68
The Spartans took care of business in this one, cruising to an easy win against an overmatched Toledo squad. Tyson Walker led the way with 11 points and six assists. Max Christie also had 14 points. Michigan State improved to 7-2 overall with the win and will now prepare for a road tilt against Minnesota on the road on Wednesday.